There is enough food in Uganda

October 22, 2009 at 3:44 pm (2009 -2011 elections, Food and health, POLITICS)
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Dear Ugandans,

There is food in Uganda however the problem is with the food distribution system. This is why while there is food insecurity in Teso, bananas are rotting away on plantations in Bushenyi! This shows that the problem is with the distribution chain. If you want to know that Ugandans grow food, just visit Koboko and Nimule. You will be amazed by the tens of trucks carrying food into the Sudan. That is the same case with the borders of DRC and Kenya. It is because Uganda supplies food to all these countries that i refer to it as a food basket. And yet, while this food is being eaten by the Sudanese and Congolese, there are people sort of food in Teso. This means that the distribution chain has to be improved.

You will also realize that for the last two years, all the flour that the WFP has supplied in Uganda was bought from Ugandan farmers. WFP buys from those who have and districts it to those who do not have and that chain some how improves the food distribution system.

At the moment, we are selling food to all  neighboring countries including the Sudan and Kenya, but we should expand  and sell food even to  Ethiopia and Eritrea, countries that have got the  worst food insecurity.

On the subject of performance, note that the hunger and poverty is more prevalent in areas led by opposition MPs and Local leaders and not by NRM local leaders. Such areas include Teso, where NRM has got only 3 MPs, Acholi were NRM has got only 1 MP and West-Nile.

For the record, Rwanda is far below Uganda in all features of social development. For example, while poverty levels are 31% in Uganda, they are 40% in Rwanda, even with production of foods, Uganda according to all recent Global Indexs is the regional food basket with a better food security than even Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania,  again, Rwanda is behind. Overall, it is only Kenya that beats Uganda on all averages.

2011 might offer some surprises as far as Kampala is concerned. There may not be so much change as far as MPs are concerned, but with Local Governance, it will be a very different matter. Residents accuse the DP leadership in the city for failing them. Mayor Nasser Ssebagala came riding on a very populist ticket that his failure to change the face of the city has deflated all those oppositionists who had faith in him. The election of Peter Ssematimba in Rubaga Division was partly as a result of this opposition disappointment. In fact, during those by-elections, almost all councilors elected, including Minsa Kabanda of the Central Division were NRM. Among the MPs, Lukwago (Central) Ssebagala (Kawempe) Ssebuliba (Kawempe south) Hussein Kyanjo (Makindye) Beti Kamya (Rubaga North) are unshakable and will return.

It is not only Ssebagala who is not performing, even other DP LC3 chairmen, for example Nasser Takuba in Kawempe and Moses ‘Bill Gates’ Kalungi are not doing well. Even Nakawa division under Protazio Kintu is these days full of conflicts rather than positive administration. of the 5 divisions in the city, only the Central division under NRM has had less internal wrangles compared to the rest. For Ssematimba, it is still early to judge him. I see a time when the population simply lets go of these DP leaders and replace them with either independents or NRM. I bet on that.

There are things that you can see and conclude that so and so has performed. For example in urban areas like Kampala, the presence of garbage heaps means that the authorities have failed in the garbage collection task. The development of more slums and unplanned structures means that the authorities have failed on that task too, the pot-holes in the roads around the city means that the authorities have failed etc-then you combine these with on the spot views of the population about their leader and i assure you that Kampala is failing on all those fronts.

As far as Nasasira is concerned, i can give him 60% performance accross the country. If he is judged on Kampala alone, then he gets below average, but accross the country he gets at least 60% and this is why. At the moment, all major highways have got or are getting new tarmac. Such include Bombo-Karuma, Busunju-Hoima, Masaka-Mbarara, Masaka-Kampala, Soroti-Dokolo-Lira, Northern by pass, Gulu-Atik-Nimule etc. Secondly, roads that did not formerly have  tarmac are being tarmacked at the moment and these include Gayaza-Wobulenzi, Matuga-Semuto-Kapeeka, Ntungamo-Kabale-Kisoro etc.

Previously, he also over saw the tarmacking of Kafu-Masindi, Karuma-Arua, Mubende-Fortportal etc and all these are major links. In reality, Nasasira is not a failure if you take out politics.

Kagonyera failed to harmonise issues at NSSF so he is a failure and about Akankwasa, he is currently under the radar for issues related to his wife and money, but not his work at NFA. Those are DPs and everybody knows them.

Joshua Kato

Journalist

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Northerners are rarely affected with diabetes

August 16, 2009 at 11:14 pm (Food and health, HEALTH)
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Dear Mr. Otto Patrick,

I generally agree with you on the two types of Diabetes. Where I do not agree with you is, associating the “Os” predominantly in the Northerners’ names, with blood types. “O” in a name of a Northerner does not mean the person has type “O” blood. Northerners generally have names starting with the “O” letter of the alphabet; it has got nothing to do with blood type.

So, I am kind of failing to know why you should lump Peter Senoga with the Obargots from the North, & Abbey Semuwembas with Joe Ochienos from Eastern Uganda. Blood wise, the Obargots of Northern Uganda are closely linked to their brothers and cousins of the Ochienos of Eastern Uganda. Take a look at even the physiques of the two Luos and you will agree. I personally went to school with so many Ochienos of Eastern Uganda; some, who were called Okoths, were close friends of mind. We in the North called their “Okoths”, Okots!

Amongst Northerners, there are not very many cases of Diabetes. Diabetes of the type II tends to manifests itself amongst people with excess body mass. Amongst the people of the North generally, you rarely find people with excess body mass. Most Northerners are lean and mean; tall; &c. This is partly because of their gene and partly because of their diet. Of course Northerners eat foods like meat, beans, peas, millet, cassava, potato(sweet), &c. All these foods are eaten by the rest of Ugandans. However, the North is hot too, which means during the hot season, heat helps people burnt out and sweat off excess fat plus other impurities that normally accumulate during the cold season. Consequently you don’t find many people suffering from Diabetes.

If you happen to find a case of Diabetes amongst Northerners, it is most likely because of pre-existing medical conditions that impact negatively on the body metabolism thereby overworking body organs, contributing to the type II Diabetic condition. What therefore you are stating here thus: “Blood group Os like Mr Peter Senoga (O+) and the Obargots of this world are better off with a meaty diet of the original Cro-Magnon of 30,000 years ago.  You the Group Os eat the grains and starches only to suffer the pain of heart burn (acid reflux) in the short run, peptic ulcers in the medium term and Diabetes Type II in the long run.” is again hogwash. Its NOT TRUE!

Northerners eat grains and starch on daily basis; in fact, all our food of daily intake include grains and starch like: Corns(maize), Millet, Sorghum, Cassava, potato. A Northern eat one of these everyday! Ask anyone. Every freaking day a Northerner is either eating Corn(Maize), Millet, Cassava, Potato, or Sorghum! All these food items contain starch, yet I do not hear anyone complaining of heart burn and peptic ulcers! You are again being true to yourself, lying, lying, and lying, about the North! What is your freaking problem?

In the South, especially in Mbarara, Buganda, Busoga, &c, the body mass are different. In these areas, people are a lot more heavier, naturally - gene-wise. Their diet also contribute to the development of the body mass. Which means, although in those areas people eat most of what are eaten in the North, the outcomes normally differ because of gene and also the surrounding climate. The South is generally cold and wet, almost throughout the year. So, a person’s body does not get purified naturally because of the surrounding temperature like in the North. In Western Uganda, in places like Mbarara, you should also note that milk consumption is very high. Although milk is good for bone development – the reason they grow tall – dairy products tend to make people develop excess body mass. Mbarara in fact boast women with the best bahind in the country. One such woman, with the best behind in all of Mbarara, and therefore the best in all of Uganda, is an hotel owner. Do you deny it? Go to that hotel you will eat very good meal mister!

People who consumes lots of dairy products tend to grow fatter than those who don’t. But these situations are now being complicated by the consumption of fast food products: French fries, hamburgers, plus other chemically pregnants drinks like coke, which Gook is alluding to. All these contribute not in small terms, to the explosive Diabetes in Mbarara.

In my opinion, the government needs to take serious steps to stump out all of these foreign products. They are not healthy for the populations. Failure to do so means the situation is only going to get worse!

Obargot Pabwoola
UAH forumist

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Diabetes in Mbarara is from Hotloaf not Coca Cola

August 16, 2009 at 4:01 pm (Food and health)
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Mbarara, and other growing urban centres are experiencing increased reports of Diabetes and this will only worsen with time.  But who is the culprit? The Coca Cola plant or something else?  Dr Bitekyerezo contradicts his own title and name by not having good thoughts about the problem.  It is good his radio program was snuffed out.
The diabetes that we see on the rise in Uganda is Type II, adult type and not Type I.  Type II results from roadblocks being placed for insulin in its access to body cells, making it hard for the body to either utilise blood sugar to generate energy or to convert excess blood sugar into the storable form.  With Type II diabetes, the Mbarara type, you have the paradox of plenty of blood sugar and plenty of blood insulin, yet you are feeling Mulindwaish (i.e., foggy-headed) and fatigued.  In Type I, you simply have no insulin factory…and it evident right from infancy.
I hear the key road block to insulin’s access to body cells is a protein found in grains particularly wheat and some cousins of beans.  The protein is called gluten.  Taking sugary food is only a problem for those already with Diabetes.  Uganda has a largely Blood Group O population, and sadly, we have taken on to taking wheat products suited for Blood group A (Agrarian) populations of Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
A blood group A individual like Mr  Abbey Semuwemba and Mr Joseph  Ochieno would be fine with wheat products.  Blood group Os like Mr Peter Senoga (O+) and the Obargots of this world are better off with a meaty diet of the original Cro-Magnon of 30,000 years ago.  You the Group Os eat the grains and starches only to suffer the pain of heart burn (acid reflux) in the short run, peptic ulcers in the medium term and Diabetes Type II in the long run.  Dr Bitekyerezo should revise his notes on the political economy of the ABO blood types, and the natural history of Homo sapiens………

Diabetes Type II arises when body cells develop resistance to insulin.  When that happens, the body will fail to utilise blood sugar (glucose) to generate energy, in addition to failing to convert surplus glucose to its storable form (glycogen).  There is a link between blood type, diet and diabetes type II.

Why do I say that Hoat Loaf bakery is more to blame than Coca cola?

Now, one of the key factors in increasing cellular resistance to insulin is gluten, a protein that is found in whole wheat…that protein that makes bread dough sticky.  That is the culprit, particularly in individuals whose Blood group is O.  Coca cola or other sugary drinks do not contain gluten.  Gluten is found in Bread, chapati, rolex (rolled eggs) mandazi and other wheat products whose consumption is on the increase in Uganda.

Coca cola and other sugary drinks can be of significance only in individuals already suffering from diabetes, not at the level of causation.  They complicate (but not cause) Diabetes Type II by overloading the system with sugar but they do not play any role in increasing cellular resistance to insulin.  Peasants call sugar “sukali” and they call diabetes “sukali: that is a major source of confusion for may of us that are lay.

Why do I make specific reference to Blood Group O?

That is the predominant Blood group in Uganda and in much of Africa South of the Sahara.  When you look at man’s natural history, Bld Gp O is found to be the Oldest, or Original blood group, hence, as far as I am concerned, the ‘O’: original, oldest….nothing to do with Luo names!  Blood group O can be traced back to about 30,000 in the savanas of Africa and  were the original hunters, and therefore meat eaters.  When populations increased and competition for hunting grounds increased, massive migrations pushed human populations Eastwards towards Asia, in areas where there wasn’t abundant game.  This was about 20,000 years ago, when those that were squeezed out of African Savanas opted for a settled agricultural life dominated by grain growing.  This is when Blood type A of the Agrarians emerged, as an antigenic type suited for settled life, dependent on Agriculture and feeding on vegetables and grains.  Blood Group As are to be found in Eurasia and much of Western Europe.  About 10,000 years ago, Blood type B emerged particularly in central Asia…eg the Mongolian Steppes.  Unlike Os who hunted in the African Savanas, and As who domesticated crops, the Bs domesticated animals.  About 3,000 years ago, another blood type, AB emerged….mainly found in parts of Northern Europe.  NB:  As you know, Blood group O can donate to A, B and AB: because it is the Original.  AB can receive from everyone because it is the most recent and culmination of the whole spiral of blood type evolution.

Back to the Hot Loaf vs Cocacolonisation debate.

There is something special with the physiology of Blood Gp Os, which as we have said are predominat in Africa.  Their stomachs produce a lot of acid originally meant for digesting the predominant food of the hunter: meat.  When a typical Blood group O individual eats less meat than he is designed to, the acid generated in the stomach becomes redundant.  What follows? It starts digesting the lining of the stomach, creating ulcers.  Let any friend of yours tell you that he has stomach ulcers.  You have guessed it: he will in all probability be a Blood group O.  Alternatively, carry out a silent survey of anyone that complains of stomach ulcers and try to establish what their blood groups might be.
Peptic ulcers is a problem for those with stomachs designed for digesting meat, but have now been pushed into eating starchy food that leaves the stomach acid idle, and just digesting the lining of the stomach.  If you are the acid-producer (Blood group O) and you consume  a starchy meal in the afternoon and you lie down for a siesta, you will be woken up by some of the acid flowing backwards into your oesophagus…the so-called heart burn…also a Blood Group O problem.  Peptic ulcers are not a Group A problem…studies show that they have a limited concentration of acid producing cells in their stomachs.
Wheat, the major food for the grain consuming ’A'grarians almost ends up being like a poison for the meat eating ‘O’riginal man….most importantly, the gluten in the wheat that binds with fat, liver and muscle cells in competition with insulin, causing insulin to float around in the blood stream unutilised, in a pool of unutilisable and unconvertible blood glucose.  Diabetes Type II is not a major problem for Blood Gp As.  Increased uptake of wheat products will reamin a driver of the Diabetes Type II problem in the predominantly blood group O Ugandan population….forget about soft drinks!

Lance Corporal (Rtd) Otto Patrick

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The peasant mode of production must be stopped to avoid further famine

July 10, 2009 at 10:59 pm (Food and health, Land matters, POLITICS)
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Dear Ugandans,

I am recycling this message to once again emphasize that the uncertainty of national food supply (“food insecurity”) is a function of over-reliance on the peasant mode of production.  The peasant mode of production has now reached its elastic limit and recurrent famine is clear testimony to that fact.  The country must find the final solution to the peasant question.  That population explosion bogey we keep resorting to whenever we come face-to-face with the limits of subsistence agriculture is sterile.

Uganda’s principle problem now is that it is experiencing an explosion of a population of elite that is mainly made up of part-time thinkers.

These were my words a few weeks ago:

1/6 An average person feeding on grains, legumes, vegetables and common meats requires about 300 Sq Metres of land to provide for his food requirements if the calorific consumption per day is the minimum requirement for a human being, i.e., about 2,600 calories per day; and assuming that there are 3 harvests per annum on that land.

2/6 An average human being requires at least 715 square metres of dwelling space at maximum dwelling density, this being the average amount of space per person in the great New York area.

3/6 Uganda has up to 5.2 million Hectares of arable land, that is, 13 million acres or 52 billion square meters. For the current population of 30 million, the optimum arable land one would expect to be used for food production, (assuming an average Ugandan consumes 2,500 calories of food per day – which he does not) is 18 billion square metres (30,000,000 x 300).

4/6 The amount of space that used for living is 2.15 billion sq M (30, 000,000 x 715) giving a total of 20.15 Billion Sq M that we would currently utilise if every Ugandan was taking up the maximum optimum living space (OLS) and consuming the recommended daily allowance of calories.

5/6 Therefore, out of our 52 Billion sq M, we are theoretically “using” only 38.75%. Basing on that computation, Uganda’s maximum carrying capacity is at least 77.42 million, which at the current rate of population increase shall be attained at 23:47 Hrs on 17 September 2036.

6/6 Note that, although we claim to be agricultural, our productivity is still abysmal. Kenya has only 4.6 million Hectares of land and they are able to add value agriculturally to the tune of $1,600 million per annum, compared to Uganda with 5.2 million hectares but adding value only to the tune of $574 million. Uganda’s value addition rate is about 36% that of Kenya. The difference can be attributed largely to Uganda’s peasant mode of production.

Lance Corporal (Rtd) Otto Patrick

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DRIVERS OF DEMOGRAPHY: THE HOE, THE ASSEMBLY LINE AND THE MICROCHIP

July 10, 2009 at 10:54 pm (Food and health, Land matters, POLITICS)
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Dear UAH,

1/7 The Countries of the world can be divided into three clans according to the waves of major change that they have undergone.  “First Wave” countries are the agrarian countries, whose Court of Arms is the hoe..  For such countries, man has only made one major transition: from being the hunter-gatherer to domesticating innocent beasts and cultivating crops.  “Second Wave” countries are the industrial countries whose Court of Arms is the assembly line and “Third Wave” countries are the post-industrial or information age countries Court of Arms is the Microchip.

2/7  The way countries work, produce, consume, socialize, politic, celebrate the beginning or end of life, raise families, fight wars, etc ……the way we live is shaped by the wave of change that precedes our present mode of existence.  Uganda today is a “First Wave” country, that is, one of those countries still living off the First wave of change unleashed ten thousand years ago by the invention of agriculture…about 90% of us are peasants just like England in 1381 during the peasant wars, and the 100 years war.

3/7 As you know, the precondition of any form human advancement is energy.  First wave societies like Uganda get all their energy from “living batteries”: human/animal muscle power, or direct from nature…the sun, wind, water.  If anything, Uganda is at the lowest end of the first wave: we have not even dared yet to make the transition from the use of human muscle power to harnessing animal muscle power.  We are not yet where Europe was by the time of the French revolution when they drew their energy from an estimated 14 million horses and 24 million oxen which pulled ploughs and carts, with waterwheels and windmills turning millstones etc.

4/7 Look at Uganda : everything is dependent on human muscle power.  Economic productivity of a low- grade first wave society like us is a function of the pairs of hands available to operate the hoe.  It is not a question of “moral hazard” as any member of UAH would wish to think, or ‘dark nights’ as Professor Kamuntu believes, or lack of financial penalties on reproduction as Mr Obbo has mused.  Making more and more pairs of hands available is a functional necessity.  Unless we break out of agrarianism, our demographic profile will not change.  The question here is: does high population growth cause poverty or it is poverty that causes a high population growth? If at all there is a causal relation between high population and poverty, then the latter is the cause and the former just a spinoff.

5/7 Civil War America graphically illustrates the contrast between First Wave and Second Wave demographics.  That civil war was a clash between the industrialism of the North (Unionists) and agrarianism of the South (Confederates).  The leader of the industrial cause, Abraham Lincoln had two siblings, while Jefferson Davis was the last born in a family of 10.  You mentioned China ’s one child policy.  China came up with the one child policy as soon as they started making the transition to the Second Wave. That policy has not been there all the time, as Mr Obargot has pointed out: it was conceived of in 1979, and implimented wef 2000.   The policy applies only to 35.9% of the population: it is restricted only to the urban areas. It does not apply to rural couples, ethnic minorities, and parents without any siblings themselves, or special administrative regions like Hong Kong and Macao..

6/7 The argument on population explosion is not convincing on several grounds: I remember from the days I was a mortar man, whenever there was an explosion, there would be fragments all around..  With our population explosion, where are the fragments?  We would expect to see a lot of old people around, yet globally, Uganda has the lowest number of people over the age of 65.  Why? : Because of our high mortality rates.  Just today, 2,794 children will be born in Uganda .  By 13 March 2010, 184 of them will have died, not because today is Friday 13th.  It is because in Uganda , 65.99 out of every 1,000 live births do not live to celebrate their first birth day.  We rank No. 35 in the world.  For the 1.02 million that will be born this year, those that will die will be the equivalent of 170 Boeing 747s packed with babies crashing at Entebbe at the rate of three per week.  Here is the point: the rate at which organisms reproduce is always commensurate with the odds of survival.  We reproduce a lot because we reduce a lot.  It is not immorality, it is mortality stupid!

7/7 The high maternal mortality you have highlighted is incidental to those underlying factors.  Uganda ranks at No. 23 in the world, with 510 mothers dying in child birth for every 100,000 live births.  Sadly, as long as we remain a “First Wave” or peasant society that atrocity against the mothers shall only pass as an occupational hazard, the whims/political will (or lack thereof) of our lumpen-bourgeoisie notwithstanding.  We are simply pushing the wrong buttons….Bottom line: we have to find the final solution to the peasant question.

Lance Corporal (Rtd) Otto Patrick

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High Uganda population explained – A Shot in the Dark!…UGANDA….11.7 Bn

July 10, 2009 at 10:48 pm (Food and health, Land matters, POLITICS)
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L_Cpl Otto:

Professor Kamuntu should have reflected on his own admission that only 9% of Ugandans have electricity.  If that is the case, how come the country is teaming with youth if only those with electricity are overdoing it?

Professor Kamuntu should  be helping the government to come up with credible measures to curb the population explosion. Uganda will not come close to meeting its millennium goals if the population growth continues to grow at that rate. Similarly Uganda won’t be able to offer effective health care to the people with such numbers.  It simply can’t even with plentiful oil money in the future.

Ugandans do not seem to appreciate the strong macroeconomic growth because the micro economic fundamentals are terrible. Very little attention has been paid to the household level which is both the victim and author of their own fate.

I understand the jist of Professor Kamuntu’s assertion: that lack of leisure and work activities forces Ugandans to engage in sexual activities.  he should live that to undergraduate students of micro economics. As the the minister in charge of planning it was very timid. He should tell Ugandans the uncomfortable truth, which is that as long as they continue to produce many babies, their fate is doomed. Period. Done.

There is no magic bullet out of poverty at the household level. Needless to say, households with more children are likely to be poorer than households with fewer children. As the minister in charge of planning that is the message he should convey to Ugandans religiously. As they say he should stay on message over and over.

The big question is how to get there given the socially conservative environment in the country.  Is the government of Uganda prepared to confront the elephant in the house and extend affordable, safe and accessible family planing services to those Ugandan women who want them? The minister can talk of natural methods if they want but the most effective method is well known.

Ugandans cannot have their cake and eat it too. No way. The best and yes more efficient method was the one suggested by Mr Onyango-Obbo in his Daily Nation column that to save Africa, time has come to levy a tax on babies. Incidentally  land tax would also be the most efficient in the country but Ugandans are allergic to taxation (read the big men are the largest landholders).  Yes, raise the cost of having babies without shifting the burden and cost on the poor Ugandan women. That could do the trick faster than this electricity angle.

The Minister as a respected economist should also help the state review the legacy of its  policies.  Are  some govt policies contributing to the population explosion?  For example could UPE and USE be having unintended consequences on population? How? Now that the barriers to education are no more even those Ugandans who may have sought of family planing/child spacing may not care anymore now that the burdens have been relieved.

You know Ugandans and their mentality “let us now produce the govt will educate” so they say.  But wait a minute the govt won’t feed or dress those kids.  Yes, it is proposing to treat them for free but not yet.  Are the very policies aimed to hep Ugandans hurting them instead?  That is for the govt to review and change course if necessary.

To be brunt, there is no political will to address the population explosion and its attendant poverty in Uganda. As a result the state is killing Ugandan women who have to produce until God relieves them of the burden.

WBK

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Is there an inverse correlation between electricity consumption and size of population?

July 10, 2009 at 10:42 pm (Food and health, POLITICS, Parenting and sex)
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Dear UAH and Prof. Kamuntu,
Is there an inverse correlation between electricity consumption and size of population?  Then Uganda would be popolluted!
Below are two global tables showing data on population density and energy consumption per capita .
Britain’s per capita consumption of power is 5773 KWh per person, Uganda is at 30 KWh.  Uganda and Britain are about the same land area..  If we base population size on electricity consumption, Uganda’s population should be about 192 times that of Britain, i.e., 11.7 Billion.  However, Uganda’s population is about half of that of Britain..  As you can see, Uganda’s population density is 120 persons per sqkm, that of Britain is 246.
How do you explain that discrepancy, ‘in light’ of your new hypothesis on ’shots in the dark’, Professor Kamuntu?
Also, another Professor told me that, Infant Mortality Rate is the number of infantry soldiers that die in any given battle.  Did he tell me the truth?
Lance Corporal (Rtd) Otto Patrick
“THE SAME HEAT THAT MELTS THE BUTTER HARDENS THE EGG”
WORLD POPULATION DENSITY/PER CAPITA ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION: ANY CORRELATION
1 Monaco 32,671 1.95 16,754
2 Singapore 4,327,000 699 6,336
3 Gibraltar (UK) 27,921 6 4,654
4 Vatican City 821 0.44 1,866
5 Bahrain 1,046,814 720 1,454
6 Malta 401,880 316 1,272
7 Bermuda (UK) 64,174 53 1,211
8 Maldives 329,198 298 1,105
9 Bangladesh 150,448,339 143,998 1,045
10 Guernsey 65,726 78 842
11 Jersey 91,533 116 789
12 Palestinian territories 4,018,332 6,020 667
13 Nauru 13,635 21 649
14 Republic of China (commonly, “Taiwan”) 22,894,384 35,980 636
15 Barbados 269,556 430 627
16 Saint-Martin (France) 33,102 53.2 622
17 Mauritius 1,244,663 2,040 610
18 Aruba (Netherlands) 103,484 193 536
19 Mayotte (France) 186,452 374 499
20 South Korea 49,044,790 99,538 498
21 San Marino 28,117 61 461
22 Puerto Rico (US) 3,954,584 8,875 446
23 Tuvalu 10,441 26 402
24 Netherlands 16,423,431 41,528 395
25 Lebanon 4,011,000 10,452 386
26 Martinique (France) 395,932 1,102 359
27 Comoros 797,902 2,235 357
28 Rwanda 9,037,690 26,338 343
29 Marshall Islands 61,963 181 342
30 Belgium 10,419,050 30,528 341
31 Japan 128,084,700 377,873 339
32 India 1,103,371,000 3,287,263 336
33 El Salvador 6,880,951 21,041 327
34 Saint-Barthélemy (France) 6,852 21 326
35 American Samoa (US) 64,869 199 326
36 Israel 7,180,000 22,072 325
37 U.S. Virgin Islands (US) 111,818 347 322
38 Sri Lanka 20,742,910 65,610 316
39 Réunion (France) 785,139 2,510 313
40 Guam (US) 169,635 549 309
41 Haiti 8,527,777 27,750 307
42 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 119,051 388 307
43 Saint Lucia 160,765 539 298
44 Philippines 84,566,000 300,076 282
45 Burundi 7,547,515 27,834 271
46 Grenada 102,924 344 260
47 Trinidad and Tobago 1,305,236 5,130 254
48 Vietnam 84,238,230 331,689 254
49 Guadeloupe (France) 405,000 1,628 249
50 United Kingdom 60,776,238 242,900 246
51 Jamaica 2,650,713 10,991 241
52 Germany 82,689,210 357,022 232
53 Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) 182,656 800 228
54 Liechtenstein 34,521 160 216
55 Pakistan 165,935,100 803,940 198
56 Italy 58,092,740 301,318 193
57

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Ugandans eat what they ’see’ not ’sea food’

April 25, 2009 at 2:50 pm (Food and health, Social issues)
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Dear Ugandans,
The other day, a gentleman asked what Uganda’s stepple food was and I told him: “see food”.  To him, it was like I had said “Sea food”.  He drifted into a lengthy rant about how I was lying, that Uganda was land locked so we cannot have sea food, and that probably I was not a Ugandan etc……on and on…until I told him we eat what we see, see food.
If it does not kill you, what is the problem?  One UAH forumist called Gook has been circulating a video on face book of people for whom rats are a delicacy.  In South Korea, dog chilli is afforded only by the posh individuals.  It is in fact called “Posh Tang”.  Many Euro-American cookery books have recipes for preparing squirrel meat, right from skinning the beast to serving it.
Besides, rats are rodents.  In that group of animals, you have the cane rat..omusu.  Baganda eat it.  The leporidae, i.e., rabbit and hare.  That one also, Baganda eat.  Porcupine..’namunungu’ Baganda eat it too.  There are many, many other relatives of the rat all over the world and they are eaten wherever they exist….guinea pig, pika, chinchilla, squirrels, capybara of Amazonia (which weighs up to 50 Kg), beavers and all other animals with this dentition:
2.0.3…3
1.0.2.3

If you eat one of the animals with that dental formula, do not make fun of another person who eats a smaller member of the group.. You are all rodent eaters.

Ridicule a fellow rodent eater, when you ambush innocent termites flying out of mounds of soil in the evening, and late at night…enswa, ennaka….heard about “Omulyannaka”?  Read “Omuganda n’enswa”?  After that, you will laugh at the Zambians that enjoy “kadoima”: caterpillars.

Lance Corporal (Rtd) Otto Patrick

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